Former Sri Lankan Police Chief Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Attacks
Colombo, Sri Lanka – The Permanent Trial-at-Bar of the Colombo High Court on Thursday sentenced former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara to death after finding him guilty of failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks despite receiving sufficient prior intelligence warnings.
The verdict was delivered in the case filed by the Attorney General against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Pujith Jayasundara over their alleged failure to act on advance intelligence that could have prevented the coordinated bombings.
The case has undergone several legal developments over the past few years. In 2022, a three-judge High Court bench acquitted both accused of all charges.
However, the Attorney General appealed the acquittal, and the Supreme Court later overturned the High Court’s ruling. The apex court ordered that the defence evidence be recorded afresh and directed that the case be retried before the Permanent Trial-at-Bar.
Following the retrial, the Colombo Permanent Trial-at-Bar delivered its judgment on Thursday, sentencing former IGP Pujith Jayasundara to death.
The Easter Sunday terrorist attacks on April 21, 2019, targeted churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka, killing more than 260 people and injuring hundreds, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.
Join our WhatsApp group for instant news updates : Click HERE
